Method and apparatus for selection control

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for selection control using a touch screen, wherein first and second intersecting bars ( 1, 2 ) are displayed, preferably near the edge, on the screen ( 3 ), and the first bar ( 1 ) displays containers ( 4 ) and the second bar ( 2 ) displays objects ( 5 ) contained in one of said containers ( 4 ); and an object in the second bar ( 2 ) is activated by one touch on said object, or objects displayed in the second bar ( 2 ) are replaced by objects contained in a selected container by one touch on said selected container in the first bar ( 1 ).

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to selection control andparticularly to a method and an apparatus for selection control using atouch screen.

BACKGROUND

Today it is expected that everybody can cope with the growing number ofservices, TV channels, Internet homepages, and the like, and with thegrowing number of technical apparatuses with increasing number offeatures.

Selection of services, selection of Internet homepages, selection of TVchannels, adjustment of TV, adjustment of set-top box, and the like areusually connected with a lot of key-pressing and there is ofteninformation covering an entire display area.

Instructions to adjustment of TV sets and the like are often complex anddifficult to understand, and the number of TV channels, etc. is oftenlarge.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method thatfacilitate for users to select services and the like, or that facilitateadjustment of TV sets and the like.

This and other objects are according to one aspect of the presentinvention attained by a method as claimed in claim 1.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an apparatusthat facilitate for users to select services and the like or tofacilitate adjustment of TV sets and the like.

This object is according to a second aspect of the present inventionattained by an apparatus as claimed in claim 14.

A yet further object of the present invention is to provide a computerprogram product that facilitate for users to select services and thelike or to facilitate adjustment of TV sets and the like.

This object is according to a third aspect of the present inventionattained by a computer program product as claimed in claim 25.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a portablemedia browsing device that facilitate for users to select services andthe like or to facilitate adjustment of TV sets and the like.

This object is according to a fourth aspect of the present inventionattained by a portable media browsing device as claimed in claim 26.

A touch screen is an apparatus that provides possibilities to developuser interfaces for selection of multiple choices. It can detect an areaof the screen touched and relate that area to an object displayed on thescreen.

In the present invention two intersected bars are displayed on a touchscreen. The bars are preferably displayed near the edge of the screen toblock as little as possible of the screen, as the screen still shows anevent. The first bar displays a row of containers, each containingobjects. The second bar displays a column of objects contained in oneselected container, preferably the one located in the intersection ofthe bars. One touch on an object activates said object, and one touch ona container changes the positions of the containers in said first bar sothat the touched container is put in the intersection of the bars andtherewith the second bar displays the objects contained in the touchedcontainer.

More advantages and features of the present invention will be apparentfrom the description below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from thedetailed description of embodiments of the present invention given belowand the accompanying figures, which are given by way of illustrationonly, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows an overview of intersected bars on a touch screen accordingto a first embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 2 shows intersected bars with markers according to a secondembodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 3 shows an overview of intersected bars on a touch screen accordingto a third embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 4 shows intersected bars with integrated symbols,

FIG. 5 shows intersected bars with attached symbols,

FIG. 6 shows an overview of a screen with intersected bars displayed,and

FIG. 7 is a block diagram depicting a method according to the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

In the following description, for purpose of explanation and notlimitation, specific details are set forth, such as particulartechniques and applications in order to provide a thorough understandingof the present invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled inthe art that the present invention may be practiced in other embodimentsthat depart from these specific details. In other instances, detaileddescriptions of well-known methods and apparatuses are omitted so as notto obscure the description of the present invention with unnecessarydetails.

A TV screen may comprise a touch screen for selection control of a settop box or TV channels, alternatively a computer screen may comprise atouch screen for selection control of Internet homepages, or preferablya WebPad may comprise a touch screen for selection control of Internethomepages.

A first embodiment of the invention will now be described with referenceto FIG. 1. A first and a second intersecting bar 1, 2 are displayed on atouch screen 3. The bars are preferably displayed near the edge of thescreen in order to block as little of the screen as possible. The screenmay e.g. display a TV program or an Internet homepage in the background,which preferably should be presented as visually as possible. The firstbar 1 displays a number of containers A, B, . . . , F containingobjects. The second bar 2 displays a number of objects A0, A1, . . . ,A4 contained in the container at the intersection of the bars, i.e.container A.

An object in the second bar 2 is activated by one touch on that object.This may for instance be an event such as switching TV channels, accessof a homepage on the Internet, or a selection of background colour ofthe screen.

It is possible to allow further levels than just two: container andobject. Activation of an object may display sub-objects in a third bar,which then preferably replaces the first bar. In this way the screen isnot blocked more than with only two bars.

Objects displayed in the second bar 2 are replaced by one touch on acontainer other than A in the first bar 1. Then, said other containermoves to the intersection of the bars, and therewith the objectscontained in said other container are displayed in the second bar. Thecontainers may preferably keep the relative order after said othercontainer has moved to the intersection of the bars, but alternativelysaid other container may switch places with container A.

The first bar 1 may be displayed near the lower edge of the screen andthe second bar 2 may be displayed near the left edge of the screen. Asshown, the angle between the bars is 90 degrees, but it is possible todisplay the bars with another relative angle. In this case theintersection is in the lower left corner of the screen. It is alsopossible to display the bars 1, 2 at other combinations along the edgesof the screen. It is further possible to display the bars with theintersection at other locations than in a corner of the screen, e.g. inthe middle of the screen. But as the middle of a screen usually displaysthe most important information the bars are preferably displayed alongthe edges of the screen.

A second embodiment will now be described with reference to FIG. 2. Incase there are more containers to display than there is space for on thescreen, a marker, e.g. an arrow 20, is displayed at an end of the firstbar 1. A touch on the marker scrolls the containers in the first bar 1,which makes it possible to select each container. Similarly, if thereare more objects than there is space for on the screen, another marker21 is displayed at an end of the second bar 2 to make it possible toscroll through the objects. It is also possible to display a marker atboth ends of a bar to make it possible to scroll that bar in twodirections. It is further possible to display markers at theintersection of the bars as seen in FIG. 2. It is yet further possibleto display markers even when not necessary, i.e. when all containers orall objects could be shown on the screen. By showing markers even whennot necessary the user recognises the look of the displayed bars, whichfacilitate for the user to recognise the interface.

Normally the intersected bars 1, 2 are not shown on the screen 3. Atouch on the screen, or on a key on a console, if such a console isprovided, activates the intersecting bars and therewith they aredisplayed on the screen. After that an object has been activated thebars are made to disappear from the screen, with the exception that theactivation of sub-objects does not make the bars to disappear.

A third embodiment of the present invention will now be described withreference to FIG. 3, wherein each container 6 in the first bar 1displays one object directly A0, B0, . . . , F0, i.e. even when notbeing located in the intersection with the second bar 2. In thisembodiment it is possible to activate an object A0, B0, . . . , F0directly in the first bar 1. Each container 6 in the first bar 1comprise two fields; one touch on an object in the respective containeractivates that object, preferably with a visualisation that first movesthat container to the intersection of the bars and then activating theselected object; one touch on a container moves that container to theintersection of the bars, and therewith the second bar displays theobjects contained in that container. The visualisation in connectionwith activated objects in the first bar is preferably used to make itfeasible for the user to understand what has happened.

The objects displayed in the first bar may be selected in several ways.One option is to display the object last activated in the respectivecontainer. Another option is to display the most frequently activatedobject. A third option is to display an object pre-selected by the user.

One way of making it possible to configure the bars is by employment oftwo touches, a so called double touch, on an object, on a container, oranywhere on the screen open a dialog box for configuration of thatobject, that container, or a general configuration. To distinguish adouble touch from a single touch, it is necessary that the two touchesare performed within a predetermined period. Preferably the two touchesshould be performed within a second, or more preferably within half asecond, since effectuation of a single touch has to wait until a timecorresponding to the time allowable between the touches in a doubletouch, i.e. after detection of a touch and a time equivalent to theallowable time between the touches the effect of the single touch iseffectuated.

A touch on a touch screen may be detected as a touch when a touchdevice, e.g. a finger or a touch pen, is lifted from the screen, aso-called finger up. A way of making it possible for a user to arrangeor rearrange the objects or containers is by a drag and drop technique,i.e. when touching (keeping the touch device down, i.e. a so-calledfinger down) on an object or a container it is possible to move thatobject or container to a different position, e.g. to a differentcontainer or different position among the containers. It is furtherpossible to drag e.g. an Internet address from an event of the visiblepart of the screen and drop it, and thereby creating an object in theform of a bookmark, in a container.

In order to block as little as possible of the screen an alternative wayof displaying the bars may be to display the bars semi transparent, i.e.no distinguishing background is utilized.

To further facilitate for the user to select a container or object thecontainer or object may be visualised as a symbol representing thecontainer or the object, see e.g. FIG. 4. For instance, the symbol maybe a football for a sports container, an Internet figurehead forhomepages or a TV screen for TV channels. The symbol may further be apreview of the object, i.e. a miniature still picture of a TV program orminiature of a homepage. The symbol may also be attached, as 30 in FIG.5, to an object and alternatively further show the characteristic of theobject, as 70 in FIG. 6. This facilitates for the user to detect anobject or a container with a quick visual overview.

A way to detect a selection to display additional information of acontainer or an object is to move a touch device, e.g. a finger or atouch pen, over that container or object without lifting the touchdevice from the screen, i.e. a so-called finger over.

A method for selection control by use of a touch screen will now bedescribed with reference to FIG. 7. After activation, e.g. a touch onthe touch screen, a first and a second intersecting bar are displayed 61on the screen. If an object is touched 64 that object is activated 65and the bars are made to disappear, and else if a container is touched66 that container is put 67 in the intersection of the bars and theselected bars are displayed 61.

An additional feature is to detect 62 after the bars are displayed 61 onthe screen, if a double touch is performed and therewith display 63 anedit box for configuration of the interface. If only a single touch isdetected, as described above, the method operates as described above.

An alternative feature is to make the intersected bars disappear after apredetermined period, e.g. one minute, without detection of a touch.

Preferably, the present invention is run on a computer with an internalmemory, with software code that performs the features described above.

It will be obvious that the invention may be varied in a plurality ofways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from thescope of the invention. All such modifications as would be obvious toone skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope ofthe appended claims.

1. A method for selection control using a touch screen, the methodcomprising the steps of: displaying first and second intersecting bars,wherein the first bar displays containers and the second bar displaysobjects contained in a container in an intersection of the bars; andactivating a selected object in the second bar by one touch on saidselected object, or moving a container different than the container inthe intersection of the bars, to the intersection of the bars, by onetouch on the different container thereby replacing objects displayed inthe second bar by other objects contained in the different container,and activation of a selected object in the second bar by one touch onsaid selected object.
 2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein eachcontainer in the first bar comprises two fields, of which one displays apredetermined object in each respective container and a furtherselection comprises activating a predetermined object in the first barby one touch on that object, or moving a container in the first bar tothe intersection of the bars by one touch on the other field of thatcontainer.
 3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the objectdisplayed in each respective container in the first bar shows the latestactivated object of each respective container.
 4. The method as claimedin claim 2, wherein the object displayed in each respective container inthe first bar shows the most frequently activated object of eachrespective container.
 5. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein saidactivation of a selected object in the first bar first puts thecontainer containing that object in the intersection of the bars andthen activates that object.
 6. The method of any previous claim, whereineach object is shown as preview of a respective event the objectcorresponds to.
 7. The method as claimed in any of claims 1, 2, 3, 4 or5, wherein each object is shown as a symbol representing the containerin which it is contained in the first bar.
 8. The method as claimed inany previous claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, wherein the bars are semitransparent.
 9. The method as claimed in any previous claim 1, 2, 3, 4or 5, further displaying markers for scrolling the bars.
 10. The methodof claim 9, wherein said markers are displayed at the intersection ofthe bars.
 11. The method as claimed in any previous claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or5, wherein activation of a selected object changes TV channel, ordownloads an Internet homepage.
 12. The method as claimed in claim 1,wherein activation of a selected object displays sub-objects in afurther bar, which replaces the first bar.
 13. The method as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the bars are displayed near a respective edge of thescreen.
 14. An apparatus for selection control by means of a touchscreen, the apparatus comprising: a display of first and secondintersecting bars on the screen, the first bar displaying containers andthe second bar displaying objects contained in a container in anintersection of the bars, the apparatus being arranged to upon detectionof a touch on an object in the second bar activate that object, or upondetection of a touch on a container in the first bar move that containerto the intersection of the bars, thereby replacing objects displayed inthe second bar by other objects contained in that container.
 15. Theapparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein each container in the firstbar displays an object, and the apparatus further upon detection of atouch on object displayed in the first bar activates that object. 16.The apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein the object displayed ineach respective container in the first bar shows the latest activatedobject of each respective container.
 17. The apparatus as claimed inclaim 15, wherein the object displayed in each respective container inthe first bar shows the most frequently activated object of eachrespective container.
 18. The apparatus as claimed in claim 15, whereinsaid detection of a touch on an object in the first bar first put thecontainer containing that object in the intersection of the bars andthen activates that object.
 19. The apparatus as claimed in any ofclaims 14, 15, 16, 17 or 18, wherein each object is shown as a previewof the respective event the object corresponds to.
 20. The apparatus asclaimed in any of claims 14, 15, 16, 17 or 18, wherein each object isshown as a symbol representing the container in which it is contained inthe first bar.
 21. The apparatus as claimed in any of claims 14, 15, 16,17 or 18, wherein the bars are semi transparent.
 22. The apparatus asclaimed in any of claims 14, 15, 16, 17 or 18, wherein the apparatusfurther displays markers for scrolling the bars.
 23. The apparatus asclaimed in claim 22, wherein said markers are displayed at theintersection of the bars.
 24. The apparatus as claimed in any of claims14, 15, 16, 17 or 18, wherein the bars are displayed near the edge ofthe screen.
 25. A computer program product directly loadable into theinternal memory of a computer, said computer program product comprisingsoftware code portions for performing the method as claimed in claim 1,when the product is run on the computer.
 26. A portable media browsingdevice, including an apparatus as claimed in claim 14.